About to register a new company

Hi there, I'm a current paye employee, thinking about setting up a new business (based around webdesign) while still maintaining a full-time position at the office, in other words going legit and paying tax on part-time nixer work outside the office. The process of setting up a new company on the cro.ie website seems pretty straightforward, but I'm alittle unclear on the tax implications, if it's an actual 'company' (ie. a legal entity) as apposed to a 'business name' registration (with the actual person being the entity), am I to be taxed on the full paye rate of earnings, instead of say the standard 21% vat rate, or is that a sole trader, or am I completely mixed up ?

In other words, whats to best way (for a high-income tax earner) to minimise the tax payable on afew lump-sum payments for himself, I was under the illusion that you charge a client 21% and basically forward that amount to the revenue but a friend says it a whole lot more complicated with paye workers ?

Might be worth reading Tommy McGibney's summary overview of issues related to starting a new business [broken link removed]. If you do decide to set up a company as opposed to operating as a sole trader then perhaps the [broken link removed] and sites wil have some information of interest to you.

You'll also need to make sure there is no conflict of interest with your day job and that you are not breaching any terms in your current contract of employment. I think the VAT issue will depend on your likely income during the year on the non-PAYE side. How much do you expect to earn non-PAYE?